How can more children – and particularly children in vulnerable positions – become part of reading communities? This is what Aarhus University, VIA University College and Aarhus Public Libraries are investigating through specially designed initiatives at libraries and research conducted in connection with these initiatives.
The project is rooted in the libraries’ experience that children’s self-confidence can be strengthened through safe, non-performance-oriented communities centred around creating and experiencing stories, where children themselves have a say and influence. The project generates knowledge about how librarians and teachers can work together to develop children’s reading cultures and, in doing so, strengthen relationships and their sense of agency.
The research is linked, among other things, to the concepts of reading culture and relational agency.
The project is supported by the VELUX FOUNDATIONS’ HUMpraxis programme.
The project period begins on 1 September 2026 and is expected to conclude on 30 June 2029.
The VELUX FOUNDATIONS has awarded DKK 5.9 million to the project, distributed over the three-year period. In addition, VIA University College, Aarhus Public Libraries and Aarhus University are contributing co-financing in the form of research time and additional working hours.
The project is supported by the VELUX FOUNDATIONS’ HUMpraxis programme, which supports collaborations between research and practice with the aim of addressing current societal challenges. In Shared Stories, practitioners from Aarhus Public Libraries work closely with researchers from Aarhus University and VIA University College. The collaboration also includes schools and school libraries in the Municipality of Aarhus, as well as authors, illustrators and others.
